Australian sales of passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles fell 23.9% year on year to 63,965 units, official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) showed.
“While the figures confirm that market conditions remain soft, the extent of the fall has been compounded by the timing of the Easter holidays,” FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar said.
Year-to-date 276,935 new vehicles have been sold, down 20.3% year on year.
“After adjusting for seasonal factors, sales in April appear to be broadly consistent with results of recent months and we remain hopeful that conditions will soon stabilise,” McKellar said.
The automotive industry will continue to promote the opportunities that exist in the next two months for businesses to take advantage of the federal government’s enhanced tax break for new vehicle purchases.

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By GlobalData“There are signs of increased buyer interest in and awareness of the incentive programme which certainly underpins the need for speedy passage of the legislation,” McKellar said.
Toyota was Australia’s best-selling brand in April with 13,033 vehicles, followed by Holden with 7,829 and Ford with 6,836 sales.